Reconstruction of Falling Stars
by militaryhistory
Summary: A few weeks after a certain television broadcast, a more...reasoned discussion of the ISA occurs.


Michael Hardwick sat back in his chair and looked out at the studio audience. He was nervous for the first time in years, and he knew why. Last week's broadcast had been…educational, but for all the wrong reasons, and while he didn't think that sequence of events was likely to repeat on his show, he was honest enough to refuse to deny the possibility.

He looked over at the man in the other chair, and envied him his apparent nonchalance. How could he seem so confident, after what had happened? Wasn't he worried? Takashi and Exeter were utterly ruined, and Latimere wasn't much better off. But…he saw the producer nod, and it was showtime.

"Ladies and gentlemen," he said, smiling broadly, "thank you for tuning in this evening. We've got a real treat for you tonight—Dr. Grayson Williams, professor of history at Keegan University, widely acknowledged as one of the foremost experts on the period surrounding Babylon 5 and the formation and early years of the Interstellar Alliance. He has authored several books, most recently _Sound and Fury: The Clarkist Reaction to the Formation of the Interstellar Alliance_ , and I believe you mentioned that you're working on another book, is that correct?"  
"Yes, I am," Williams replied, steepling his fingers in front of him. "It's a biography of John Sheridan, with a particular emphasis on the time between when he took command of Babylon 5 and the end of the Drakh War. Which, I believe," he looked directly at Hardwick, who felt his nervousness intensify, "is the reason you invited me on here, in light of recent events."

"Yes, that's correct, Dr. Williams," Hardwick said, slightly too heartily. "Truthfully, I was a little surprised that you would be willing to appear on such short notice."

Williams smiled somewhat unpleasantly. "Not such short notice as that. The moment I heard that Exeter, Latimere, and Takashi were slated for the panel on Sheridan's leadership role I began to clear my calendar."

That was unexpected. "May I ask why?" he queried, deviating from the script in a fit of genuine curiosity.

"Because all of the actual historians of the period know that those three are hacks," Williams said coldly. "When I heard that those three were going to be on there I knew there was going to be controversy, and I know that I have enough of a reputation that someone would be calling me soon enough. I will say, though," he paused and leaned slightly towards Hardwick, "it was beyond my wildest imaginings that Delenn herself would appear on the program to call them out. It was truly marvelous to watch."

It was time to get back on script. "Well, while academic infighting being brought before the public is fascinating, Dr. Williams, we really should get to the main point of the program, which is discussing John Sheridan's leadership and how he affected the times he lived in."

"Of course, of course."

"What is your evaluation of how he led?"

Williams leaned back, hands steepled together and brown eyes sparkling. "Sheridan was, more than anything else, an inspirational leader. He wasn't bad at administration, was a truly wonderful tactician, and a decent strategist, but more than anything else he tended to convince people to follow him by sheer force of personality, backed by his undeniable accomplishments."

"I assume, then, that you disagree with the sentiment that Sheridan was merely a symbol?"

"Of course I do," Williams said with a snort. "Oh, there's no denying that he was in the right place at the right time, but if he hadn't been the right man he wouldn't have been there." He waved a hand. "Now, the idea that he wouldn't have been nearly as prominent in other circumstances is an entirely valid one, but if the sequence of events leading to the formation of the ISA had been replaced by a relatively peaceful path, I still don't see him retiring as anything less than a full admiral, although he almost certainly wouldn't have gotten into politics."

"That's a remarkable statement, given that he was the first president of the ISA."

"It is, but Sheridan was an officer's officer. He never saw anything except in black and white, and politics has a lot of grey. He could play the game, but he didn't like it, and he didn't always play it particularly well, especially at the beginning."

Hardwick felt a nervous twitch start, but suppressed it and pressed on. "Ah, what do you mean by that?"

"Well to begin with, when Sheridan declared that Babylon 5 was joining the rebels during the Earth Civil War, he forgot that in revolutions, the propaganda war is almost as vital as the shooting war. This led to the Clark regime's disinformation being largely unopposed for months, and Sheridan didn't understand that he would actually have to do some work on that front until that extremely doctored interview of him and Delenn came out. Why he trusted that reporter is beyond me," Williams added as an aside, "but once he got the Voice of the Resistance going things almost immediately began shifting in his favor. It's very indicative of a pattern you consistently see when you look at Sheridan. He always starts off trying to run whatever he's in charge of like it's a starship he's captaining, but realizes he can't after something goes wrong and then he changes things for the better."

"Is that what you think the problem was with the telepath colony?"

"Yes, and attributing the Telepath Crisis to that incident is ludicrous. That was coming no matter what happened, given the well-nigh cultic nature of PsiCorps. It should be said that Sheridan misjudged Byron York, his level of control over his followers, and his stability, but blaming that fiasco on him is arrant nonsense. For that, you have to go to Alfred Bester, who also instigated the Telepath Crisis."

"And the Centauri withdrawal and the Drakh War?"

"I can't understand the people who blame Sheridan for the Centauri withdrawal because it was his sneak attack on Z'ha'dum that led to the Drakh deciding to take revenge by taking over the Centauri and assaulting Earth. While that's true, one question no one's ever been able to answer is what Sheridan should have done instead. Had he not attacked the Shadows' homeworld, it is probable that Babylon 5, and with it the center of the incipient Interstellar Alliance and the rebels against the Clark regime, along with much of the future leadership of the postwar interstellar regime, would have been destroyed."

"Is there a reason you do find acceptable, then?" Hardwick asked, feeling quite proud of himself for noticing the specificity of the answer.

Williams grimaced slightly. "I can understand, although I don't agree with, the people who say Sheridan should have stopped the Narn and Drazi from bombarding the Centauri homeworld. Had they not done so, it's likely that Londo Mollari's decision to withdraw from the ISA would have resulted in a lot more questions being asked, since he would be withdrawing from an institution that had protected his people. As matters stood, he and his people had been failed, and failed badly, by the ISA, which both undercut the latter's legitimacy and authority while giving the Drakh a convenient way to isolate and further control the Centauri. Cunning of them, really. I'm not sure what Sheridan _could_ have done, but a more proactive reaction to news of the raids on their people might have prevented matters from getting to the point where the Narn and Drazi were so determined to bombard Centauri Prime."

Hardwick couldn't contain his curiosity anymore.

"Aren't you even the slightest bit worried?"

Williams looked genuinely confused. "What should I be worried about?"

"Well, what happened last week."

"Ah. You mean when former President Delenn showed up on that centenary broadcast and shut down the little _in absentia_ roast those three were having at Sheridan's expense?"

"Yes. That."

Williams laughed. "What, you think she'd show up just because Sheridan was being criticized? Look, if you think that, you fundamentally misunderstand her relationship with Sheridan."

"What do you mean?"

"This is actually on topic, so I'll go into it here. A lot of people don't really 'get' Sheridan and Delenn's relationship. There are Minbari and Human chauvinists who think she was the real 'power behind the throne'—it's remarkable how in line the two groups are on this issue—while there are others who think Sheridan largely displaced and overshadowed Delenn, even after his death. In terms of perception, these people are largely correct."

"But not in reality?"

"Not in reality," Williams confirmed. "Delenn was always her own woman, and stayed that way throughout her life. Now, it's patently obvious to anyone that's actually studied the period without an axe to grind that she was very much in love with Sheridan. But she frequently disagreed with the man, and he often changed his mind because of her advice, particularly as time went on. Furthermore, as her handling of the Minbari Civil War showed, she remained a political force all on her own, even after she married him. In other words, Delenn loved, and still loves, John Sheridan, but don't ever think that she was blind to his faults. The only reason she showed up on that program was because it was a hatchet job."

That relieved Hardwick greatly, although he was too much of a professional to show it. "That's very enlightening, Dr. Williams. Thank you. One more question. What do you think about Sheridan's disappearance?"

To his surprise, Williams looked mildly uncomfortable, although he didn't think anyone else would notice—he only did because he'd been doing this for years, and he hadn't gotten this postion through favoritism. Why did _this_ question make him uncomfortable?

"Sheridan's disappearance is one of the stranger things about his life, but there was always sort of an air of mystery about Babylon 5 and its commander, as could be expected from anywhere where members of the elder races chose to dwell for a time. The mysterious fellow, Lorien, who kept appearing after Sheridan's trip to Z'ha'dum and disappeared after the Battle of Coriana VI, the multiple incidents involving the Soul Hunters, Sheridan's immunity to mind control, the so-called 'Third Space' incident…"

"You think there was something supernatural in it, then?"

Williams shook his head vigorously. "No, I'm not. What I am saying is that there was enough strangeness in Sheridan's life that I think they really didn't find a body when they searched the ship, and that there was no sign that he let himself out the airlock."  
"So what do you think happened?"

He shrugged. "I don't know, really. There's a lot of things about the universe that we just don't know enough to understand right now. I'm not going to say that Sheridan's alive or something like that—I'm not going to agree with Norris' theory about him still being some kind of guiding intelligence for the ISA—but I really don't think anyone knows what happened to Sheridan or Sheridan's body."

Sensing that he wasn't going to get anywhere else with that, Hardwick decided to move on. "And now it's time for the audience questions, which were submitted just before the program, and will be appearing on the screen behind us. First question, please."

It appeared as the two men looked up, and Hardwick nodded. This was a good lead-in.

"Dr. Williams, what do you think of the idea that the Shadow and Drakh Wars and the Telepath Crisis could have been avoided if Santiago hadn't been assassinated?"

Williams snorted. "It's wishful thinking. It's only natural to think that if popular, charismatic figures hadn't died untimely deaths that they somehow would have avoided the events that befell their successors—see the hagiography surrounding the life of John F. Kennedy, one of the presidents of the United States of America during the 20th century, for an example. But the fact was that Earth was in no position to halt the Shadow War. It's the same sort of thing with the Telepath Crisis—tensions between telepaths and non-telepaths were exacerbated by the behavior of the Clark regime, particularly after dozens of telepaths were shipped off to the Shadows, but the underlying causes of the incident were set in stone in the foundations of the PsiCorps."

He paused for a moment and tapped his chin. "Now, the Drakh War—there's some possibilities there. It's possible that, had the ISA not had to deal with the Clark regime before mopping up the surviving Shadow forces, that the Drakh might have been caught and destroyed while evacuating Z'ha'dum. Or, more likely, that the ships lost in the battles with Earth would have been available for patrols, thereby significantly increasing coverage and stopping the raids on the Narn and Drazi before tensions reached the tipping point. On the other hand, who knows whether the ISA would have formed as it did with a friendly Earth Alliance instead of one corrupted by the Shadows?"

He shrugged. "It's all academic, now, but it's an interesting question. Thank you, to whoever asked it."

"Next question," Hardwick said when he was sure Williams was finished. Oh, _this_ was a good one.

"Dr. Williams, what do you think of Sheridan's decision to appoint Captain Elizabeth Lochley as his successor to command Babylon 5?"

Williams laughed shortly. "That's probably the question that divides historians who study Sheridan the most. Some think it was an inspired choice on Sheridan's part in an attempt to reconcile the loyalists and the rebels, others think it was a horrible blunder and a terrible example of nepotism."

"What do you think?"

"I fall more in the former camp, although I think some of the more full-throated defenses protest a little too much. There have been some people who think that the opposition to her would have been less if she were a man. That might be so, but expecting one of the epicenters of the rebellion to be okay with having a loyalist in charge and welcoming her with open arms, especially since _they_ knew about the atrocities that the regime got up to and couldn't see how she couldn't have realized what was going on, is asking a little much."

"But you are saying she wasn't a bad choice."

"Correct, but some of her defenders tend to overrate her and underrate her opposition."

Hardwick nodded. They had time for one more.

"Next, and final, question, I'm afraid." _This should be interesting,_ he thought when he read it.

"Dr. Williams, what do you think the future of relations between humans and the Minbari? Do you think the idea of a federation will ever come to pass?"

"That's a loaded question," Williams said dryly, "and one that's a little out of my field, but I'll give it my best answer and say that I don't know."

He couldn't let him get away with that.

"Come now, Dr. Williams. Give us a few more details."

Williams grimaced. "That's current politics, and I don't like interfering there, except when it infringes on historical accuracy. But I don't think we're going to unify with the Minbari anytime soon."

"Why not?"

"Our cultures are too different. Take the most rebellious Minbari you can find that isn't insane, and he's about average for humans. Take the most orderly human you can find that doesn't have some kind of disorder, and she's about average for Minbari. If we tried to unify we'd be at each other's throats inside of a couple of decades. Now, I know about those people who are predicting that if things continue the way they are human and Minbari culture will eventually converge, for good or for ill."

Williams snorted.

"One thing about xenophobes and xenophiles, they're certainly willing to ignore reality. Sure, we're more likely to converge with them than, say, the Narn or the Drazi, but that's going to be a long time coming if it ever does—centuries, at least. What I can tell you is that no one in this room will be alive to see it. There're just too many differences right now, and while I think we'll have a closer relationship with the Minbari than anyone except perhaps the Narn, unification is a pipe dream."

"Thank you, Dr. Williams. Let's give the doctor a big hand, everybody."

As the applause began, Hardwick smiled. This would definitely get some _excellent_ ratings.

Grayson Williams smiled broadly as he walked outside of the television studio. He could be up there in front of the cameras—and it had felt _good_ sticking it to those twits—but right now he just wanted to go home.

"Grayson!" he heard a familiar voice call, and he turned and smiled when he saw his fiancé close by, waving her hand in the air.

"Felicity!" he replied happily. "I wondered where you went after the filming was done. They whisked me out so fast my head spun."

She smiled. "I got stuck with the rest of the audience. The rental's in the parking lot, it's not far."

"Lead on, then," he said, and they linked arms as they walked out, providing a nice contrast to each other—or at least he thought so.

They left the building without incident—which didn't surprise him, being a famous historian didn't arouse comment except at academic conferences, universities, and the occasional bookstore—hopped into the rental, and headed out as the sun lowered towards the horizon. They'd decided to turn this into a vacation, since the wedding wasn't for another six months, and as the producers had agreed to foot the bill for the round trip between Earth and Vega VII, they'd rented a cabin in the old Cascades for a week.

He put the rental on autopilot as they flew over what had been the United States so they could both look at the old country—both his great-grandparents and hers had been born there before they went to the stars—and so that they could see the steadily setting sun as they flew west.

He wasn't sure what he thought, honestly. The country had been far kinder to his fiancé's ancestors than to his, but it had also allowed the latter to leap forth from the cradle much faster than many others. _And besides,_ he thought as he looked at her look down at the mountains, then fields and cities, with an expression best described as nostalgia mixed with wonder, _it produced her and me, albeit a few generations removed. And Sheridan._ He sighed a bit, and decided to just enjoy the view. It was a rather nice one.

He knew he was going to be answering a lot of questions tonight.

They set down at the cabin just as dusk was falling and made dinner together, as Felicity had arranged for food to be delivered there by the rental company. Once that was done, they wandered outside to the patio, where he pushed a couple of deck chairs together while Felicity lit the fire.

"I'm glad that's over with," he said with a wry smile as he flopped onto his chair and looked up at the emerging stars, "I really don't want to leave here."

Felicity shook her head as she did the same. "You can't lie to me, Grayson, you enjoyed that."

He shrugged. "Tearing apart Exeter, Takashi, and Latimere was satisfying, I'll admit. But some of those questions were a little more probing than I would have liked."

His fiancé adjusted herself on her chair so as to look him in the eye. "I was going to ask you about that. I know you have more opinions on the federation idea than you mentioned."

He grimaced. "Yes, but that's getting into things I don't want to commit to in public. The fastest and best way to get cultures to integrate is intercultural marriages that produce children."

"And human and Minbari marriages don't do that, unless one partner or the other uses a Chrysalis Device, or is descended from someone who did"

Grayson nodded. "Which isn't common knowledge, and I want to keep it that way," he replied, and she nodded in agreement. Finding that out and agreeing to keep it a secret had been how they'd met and fallen for each other. After Sheridan's disappearance and presumed death, David Sheridan had been the only human alive who could have children with a Minbari, which he'd done—he'd had several kids, in fact, all of whom could have children with either humans or Minbari, as had been proven on multiple occasions since. They were trying to keep it under wraps, though—there were plenty of supremacists and separatists from both species who would have gone after the descendants of John and Delenn Sheridan with fire and sword if they'd found out about it.

Grayson continued. "Eventually that will have an effect on the situation, but it probably won't be for a long time yet."

"That I understood," Felicity said dryly, and Grayson laughed as she smiled slightly. Then her demeanor changed, and he braced himself for the question he knew was coming.

"What is it that you know about Sheridan's disappearance?"

He sighed. "I don't _know_ anything. It's just a hunch, one that I don't dare explain in public."

"Why not?" she asked. "I know you've gotten access to the Rangers' archives that very few people have, but is there something truly earthshattering there?"

He shook his head. "Nothing by itself, but there are some problems it could cause, it sounds crazy, and there's not enough solid evidence for it."

"What problems could it possibly cause?" Felicity asked with some exasperation. "We know souls exist—the Soul Hunters prove that, as does the Brakiri Day of the Dead. After that, how much more disruptive can you get?"

"How about if I told you that Sheridan became an energy being?" Grayson replied flatly.

"Wait, _what?_ "

"Yeah, I know."

"Why do you think that?"

"Like I said, I can't prove it. But it's all the little stuff. You remember what I mentioned in the interview? Well, there's not just that. There's the fact that, twenty years almost to the day—well, when you throw in leap years, anyway—after Sheridan made his little trip to Z'ha'dum, he goes to Coriana VI, where all of the First Ones left after Sheridan told off the Shadows and the Vorlons, and that's where he vanishes? Does that seem a little suspicious?"

Felicity's brow furrowed. "I suppose so, but something tells me there's more to it than that."

Grayson nodded. "You know what happened to the second and last Vorlon ambassador to Babylon 5, right?"

"Yes. He tried to destroy the station or something like that, didn't he? And Sheridan stopped him?"

"That's the official story, which is true enough. The actual story, based on some station recordings that were sealed immediately, is that Sheridan had a little piece of Ambassador Kosh in him, and _he_ took out his successor."

"But Kosh was dead! The Shadows… _oh._ " She fell silent, and Grayson knew exactly what she was thinking. That the Vorlons had been energy beings was something that was still very classified, although widely rumored. But if they could "inhabit" a human body without displacing the host soul, there was every chance that humans could make the transition to that state. Her eyes widened, and he smiled ruefully.

"Like I said, it's flimsy, and I can't _prove_ it even with access to the classified records. But can you imagine if people took it into their heads that they might be able to be like the Vorlons?"

"It would be chaos," she agreed. "Cults flocking to Coriana VI and everywhere else that the Vorlons left a mark, other people doing the same with the Shadows, others trying to jump-start the transition…" she shuddered. "You're right. We can't even let a hint of this get out."

She thought a moment, then looked back at him. "That will work, won't it? Figuring that out would require access to the classified records, and you're one of the very few people, even in the Rangers, with full access to their archives."

Grayson nodded. "I only told you because I know you're trustworthy, and I couldn't carry it alone. I'm sorry."

She shook her head. "In six months we're going to promise to share our lives with each other. This is part of that. Besides," she added softly, "you're carrying some things of mine."

"It's worth it," he replied, then smiled. "I can't think of anyone I'd rather conceal information that could change the course of history with than you."

She chuckled mirthfully and rolled back over, and the two of them stared up at the stars for some time.

"Grayson?"

"Yes?"

"Do you think that the people who lived here before we ever went out there even dreamed that their children would end up stopping a millennia-long war?"

"Maybe. The late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries were very imaginative, although that's not my field of study."

"I wonder what our descendants will do."

"I don't know," he replied, "but I hope they'll be ready for it."

"Ours will be," she said as she moved her hand towards his.

He took it.

"Yes. Yes, they will."

And they looked to the future.


End file.
